Senate Advances NASA Chief Nominee Isaacman

Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee votes 18-10 to approve the Shift4 Payments founder and private astronaut.

Jack Daleo

Tuesday, December 09, 2025 at 11:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Shift4 Payments founder Jared Isaacman moves closer to securing the role of NASA Administrator. [Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls]

Key Takeaways:

The U.S. Senate Committee advanced Jared Isaacman's nomination for NASA Administrator with bipartisan support, despite his previous nomination withdrawal.
Senators expressed significant concerns over Isaacman's leaked "Athena" plan, which suggested shifting focus to Mars, cutting Artemis program elements, and drastically reducing NASA's science budget and workforce.
Isaacman defended the "Athena" plan as a preliminary "living document" and assured the committee of his commitment to the Artemis lunar missions, the current SLS/Orion architecture, and maximizing congressionally allotted funds for the agency.

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In an 18-10 decision, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on Monday voted to advance the nomination of President Donald Trump’s pick for NASA Administrator, Shift4 Payments founder and private astronaut Jared Isaacman.

Despite concerns over his recently leaked “Athena” plan, ties to SpaceX and CEO Elon Musk, and circumstances of his reemergence after Trump withdrew his initial nomination in May, Isaacman won bipartisan support as expected. The committee in April previously advanced Isaacman’s nomination to the full Senate in a 19-9 vote, days before he was removed from consideration.